Why this central Oregon observatory is a great place to look into the stars

Peak Northwest

There are a lot of places to find dark skies in Oregon, but relatively few that are set up to let you gaze deeply into the cosmos.

On this week’s episode of Peak Northwest, we talk to Paul Poncy, observatory manager at the Sunriver Nature Center and Observatory in central Oregon, which is one of the state’s best places to go stargazing.

Aside from the dark skies, the observatory also has several telescopes and good educational programming, all found in the vacation town of Sunriver, just south of Bend. It’s a good destination for anyone interested in space, or an add-on activity for those in the area.

Here are some highlights from this week’s show:

• Protecting dark skies is important for the people, plants and animals of central Oregon.
• How astrotourism has brought more people to Sunriver.
• What can visitors see through the observatory’s telescopes?
• What’s the deal with Sunriver’s defunct dark sky designation?

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